Pitt managed to get by Duquesne in a hard fought win at the Palumbo Center Wednesday night. The Panthers took a 14-0 lead and I was ready to condemn the Dukes and all the hype surrounding them as nonsense, but they stormed back. Pitt led the entire game but 3 times the Dukes cut it to 1 and the Palumbo was going nuts. Levance Fields played a terrible game but was able to help the team down the stretch through his ball-handling and shooting. All the Panthers struggled shooting, but Sam Young hit a clutch 3 in the final minute and DeJuan Blair made plays all night by hustling to the ball. It was nice to see the Panthers finish a tight game (barely) but it does worry me that they struggled so much today. Duquesne is a good team, but is nothing compared to the Beasts of the Big East. Pitt will have to improve to get out of Seattle with a win at Washington on Saturday.

RTJR has a new writer. Jesse Poljak joined the staff Wednesday, and his first two posts are below. Jesse closely follows the Pirates, Steelers, and Penn State clubs. He is new to this, but I enjoy his humor and he knows his stuff as well.